


Just A Bad Dream

by Rui_The_Galax_Angel



Category: Tales of Xillia 2
Genre: Everyone's alive and happy, au where no one died, everyone's FINE OKAY?!, no painful stuff here, only happy families
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 08:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19884418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rui_The_Galax_Angel/pseuds/Rui_The_Galax_Angel
Summary: After Elle has a nightmare, Ludger and Rollo comfort her and help her fall back asleep.





	Just A Bad Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I finished Tales Of Xillia 2 yesterday and I have... M a n y emotions. It took me quite a while to stop crying. So, yeah, here I am. Writing a fic where nothing bad happened.
> 
> Don't judge me, it's my way of coping after watching my new favourite Tales Of protagonist die...
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!

The sound of a clock ticking overwhelmed Elle as she stared up at the man who saved her. He smiled comfortingly at the small girl, kneeling down and placing his hand on her shoulder. Despite hiding it behind his smile, it was clear to Elle that he was in incredible pain. Tears began falling from Elle's eyes as he pulled her into a hug. She could feel his body trembling as the ticking grew louder. Then the counter moved. 999,999 became 1,000,000. Elle stared at the man with wide, wet eyes as his eyes grew dim and lifeless. Light filled the area while his body fell limp. Elle's tears began flowing faster as she desperately screamed.

"Ludger!"

Elle gasped as she woke with a flinch. She was in her bed. Her pocket watch was ticking away on her bedside table. The small girl tried to slow her breathing as she carefully sat herself up.

"It was just a dream... It was just a dream..." She whispered to herself, holding onto her trembling hands.

"Mrrp?" A confused purr sounded out from the end of her bed.

"Sorry, Rollo... I didn't mean to wake you up..." Elle muttered with a sad pout.

"Meow?" Rollo mewed as he pushed himself up and trotted up to the upset girl. He plonked himself onto her lap, rubbing his head against her chest in an attempt to cheer her up. Elle giggled quietly as the cat's fur tickled her. She hugged him tightly and stroked his silky fur but her mind was still plagued by the images of the nightmare. The fat cat noticed the worried expression on the girl's face and pushed himself away from her. He jumped down from her bed and padded over to the door. He sat down in front of the door and gently tapped it with his paw, staring at Elle expectantly.

"You wanna go out?" Elle asked. Rollo meowed at her with a nod of his fluffy head.

"Okay." Elle murmured as she pulled her duvet off herself and slid out of bed. After tiptoeing across her bedroom, Elle carefully pulled the door and let Rollo slip through. However, after leaving the room, Rollo just sat in front of Ludger's room. He stared up at Elle and meowed as if urging her to open the door. This was when Elle understood what Rollo was telling her. She frowned worriedly at Rollo before quietly tiptoeing over to Ludger's door. Composing herself, she slowly pushed the door open.

"Daddy?" She called out in a whisper.

"Mmph?" She heard him grunt as he stirred from his slumber. The silver haired man lifted his head from his pillow and glanced at Elle with sleepy eyes.

"Hey, sweet pea... What's up?" He croaked, rubbing his eyes. Elle glanced down at the floor and fiddling with her hands.

"I had a nightmare..." She admitted with a shy mumble. Ludger sat himself up and patted the bed.

"It's alright. It was just a dream." He reassured Elle as she clambered onto the bed and crawled up next to him. Rollo following close behind.

"Yeah... But it was scary..." Elle muttered with a tearful pout.

"I know, but at least you know that it wasn't real..." Ludger pointed out as he gently patted Elle's shoulder. The small girl remained silent, staring down at her lap.

"Do you wanna talk about it? Get it out of your system?" The silver haired man suggested, hoping to cheer Elle up.

"You died." Elle simply stated.

"Well, that's not good." Ludger joked lightheartedly.

"It's not funny! It was really, really scary!" Elle snapped at him, her eyes growing watery again.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, sweetheart. But, take a look. I'm still here! I'm still alive and kicking!" The man apologised, squeezing Elle's shoulder lightly.

"But... What if you do die?" The tearful girl asked nervously.

"Well... I am going to die at some point, that's just a natural part of life... But, I don't plan on dying anytime soon! I'll be an old man before I even consider dying!" Ludger assured with a smirk. Elle sat silently as she considered her father's words.

"You promise?" She asked.

"Cross my heart." Ludger answered confidently.

"You'll never ever leave me... right?"

"Never, ever, ever."

"Prove it." Elle insisted, extending her pinky finger towards the teal eyed man. Ludger chuckled fondly as he intertwined his pinky finger with hers.

"There! Now, it's a promise! And if you go back on your word, you're gonna regret it!" Elle declared.

"Oh, really? What will I have to do if I break the promise?" Ludger asked, raising his eyebrows in amusement.

"You'll..." The girl paused for a minute to think of a fitting punishment. Her eyes brightened as an idea hit her. "You'll have to eat cat food!"

Rollo hissed in protest at that suggestion. Ludger burst out laughing.

"I don't think Rollo likes that idea!" He gasped between giggles as he petted Rollo's head.

"All the more reason to keep your promise! You don't wanna upset both of us!" Elle stated with a determined pout.

"Alright, alright... Anyways, little missy, shouldn't you be getting back to sleep?" Ludger asked, poking Elle's cheek. The small girl just huffed and frowned down at her lap. Ludger smiled down at her as he put his arm around.

"Do you wanna sleep in here tonight?" He suggested quietly.

"Yeah..." Elle agreed. Chuckling fondly, Ludger picked up Elle and gently placed her on his lap. As he cradled and tightly hugged her, Elle nuzzled her into his chest and listened carefully to her father's heartbeat. The steady sound was relaxing to her. Ludger stroked her hair as he began to hum a soothing lullaby. He softly rocked Elle side to side as he hummed with a loving smile. It only took a few minutes for Elle to start nodding off. As she fell asleep, she whispered one last thing,

"I love you, Daddy..."

"I love you too, Elle." Ludger whispered back with a gentle smile. After making sure that Elle was fast asleep, Ludger laid back down with his daughter snuggled up next to him. Pulling the duvet back up over them, Ludger continued softly humming to Elle until he drifted off to sleep himself. Being careful not to wake either of them up, Rollo padded up to the pillow and curled up next to the duo's head. He purred contentedly as he got comfortable, snuggling up to his owners.

Soon, the only sounds in the room were Ludger's pocket watch ticking away and the peaceful snores of a happy family.


End file.
